Carbon-tax activists pressure Vermont candidates

Tom Hughes of Energy Independent Vermont, a group advocating for a new tax on oil, gas propane and coal paired with tax breaks in other areas, presents poll results Thursday at the Statehouse in Montpelier.(Photo: APRIL BURBANK/FREE PRESS)Buy Photo

MONTPELIER - Activists who want to tax gas and other fossil fuels say Vermonters support the plan, and politicians should pay attention.

The group Energy Independent Vermont released poll results Thursday timed to influence the Aug. 9 governor's race primary — in which none of the major candidates have endorsed a state carbon tax.

Energy Independent Vermont says about 63 percent of registered voters signaled support for the advocacy group's carbon tax plan, which was described in the poll as a "tax on companies that import oil, gas or other fossil fuels" and would be paired with tax breaks for Vermonters. About 32 percent opposed the idea.

"That gives people running for office the opportunity to learn about the support for this proposal," said Tom Hughes, campaign manager for Energy Independent Vermont. "The campaigns are still early."

Hughes' group is led by the left-leaning Vermont Public Interest Research Group and includes environmental advocates such as the Vermont National Resources Council and advocates for low-income Vermonters including the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity.

Their plan would impose a 9 cent tax per gallon of gasoline, rising over a decade to 89 cents per gallon. The tax on propane would start at about 6 cents.

Energy Independent Vermont paid $35,000 for the poll through California-based firm Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates, said Paul Burns, executive director of VPIRG. Pollsters called 600 registered voters in Vermont from June 26 to 29. The results carry a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Energy Independent Vermont refused to release the text of the entire poll, including what Hughes called "messaging" or "framing" questions.

The results are dramatically different than previous polls on the carbon-tax idea.

A VTDigger/Castleton Polling Institute survey early last year asked 700 Vermonters about the carbon tax. That poll showed a statistical tie — 48 percent in favor and 44 percent opposed.

The carbon-tax proposal has become a key Republican rallying cry as Vermont selects its next governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and legislative leaders.

"The carbon tax is coming," the Vermont Republican Party warned supporters in a recent email.

"It’s not the time for this type of tax on working families," Republican candidate Phil Scott has said on the campaign trail.

Candidates Peter Galbraith and former Vermont Transportation Secretary Sue Minter have spoken favorably of a regional or national tax on carbon, but neither Democrat believes Vermont is ready for a state-level proposal. Democrat Matt Dunne has sidelined the idea in favor of greater energy efficiency to address climate change.

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Jennifer Huyler of Milton pumps gas into her car at Maplefields gas station in Colchester last year.(Photo: FREE PRESS FILE)

"This tells us that Vermonters are overwhelmingly aware of global warming and are concerned about it," Hughes said. "And when there's concern about an issue, there's demand for a solution to it."

Democrats are overwhelmingly worried and believe human activities are the primary case of global warming, according to the poll results, while Republicans are more likely to believe natural changes in the environment are to blame.